Psychological Studies on ET Contact Experiencers

Social Science Theories, Hypotheses and
Research Findings

Part IV

By Kathleen Marden, BA, MA Edu.

“Some [experiencers] are returned to their beds, but others end up locked outside of their homes. Some awaken on their roofs, in their vehicles, or even in someone else’s home. Sometimes they find mud and vegetative matter in their beds. Others find they are no longer dressed in their own clothing, but in a stranger’s nightshirt. Sometimes experiencers find landing trace evidence on their property. Most academic psychologists ignore these unique characteristics…”

Sleep Paralysis & Hypnagogic/Hypnopompic Hallucinations

More recently, academic psychologists have focused upon explaining why some individuals come to believe they have experienced nocturnal bedroom ET Contact events. Some suspected experiencers claim to have awoken paralyzed with shadowy figures standing beside their beds or hovering overhead. They attempt to cry out but cannot vocalize their fright. They are locked inside paralyzed bodies, unable to speak or move, except for their eyes. Their hearts pound and they strain to breathe as if there is a weight upon their chests. They are acutely aware of their surroundings. Shadows transform into frightening gray images and sounds intensify. Sleep paralysis experiencers struggle to break free from their dreadful predicament, and within seconds they are fully awake.

Sleep paralysis is experienced by about 30% of the population at least once. (14) Those who endure it think they are awake but are actually partially in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Sleep paralysis is a normal function of REM sleep because it protects us from acting out our dreams in a physical sense. But occasionally we emerge from sleep while the paralysis continues for a few seconds. Sleep paralysis alone cannot explain the complex imagery described by sleep state experiencers. It has to occur in combination with hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations which are more elaborate and can last up to several minutes.

Some academic psychologists hypothesize that extraterrestrial entities are generated in hypnagogic (between waking and sleeping) and hypnopompic (between sleeping and waking) sleep states, a condition that affects about 5% of the population. Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when factors such as stress, extreme fatigue, medications and mental illness cause the part of the brain that distinguishes between conscious perceptions and internally generated perceptions to misfire. This results in internally generated visions, sounds, feelings, smells or tastes. Experiencers often see colored geometric shapes or parts of objects. Others might observe the colored image of a person, monster or animal. Sensations of floating or flying are common, along with hallucinated buzzing sounds. Hypnagogic hallucinations can be frightening. The hallucinations can last from seconds to minutes and are usually accompanied by a brief period of sleep paralysis. Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations occur at a high rate of frequency among narcoleptics, who experience extreme fatigue or periods of dozing off during the day. This sleep anomaly persists throughout a lifetime and often occurs within families. Therefore, it might be genetically carried. But most sleep anomaly experiencers report they are able to differentiate between their internally generated hallucinations and reality.

The ET Contact phenomenon, particularly when it occurs during sleep, could quite possibly be generated by hypnagogic and hypnopompic sleep anomalies, particularly among fantasy prone individuals. However, experiencers suspected of having veridical experiences due to the presence of physical evidence, witnesses, etc. report subtle but significant differences between their experiences and sleep anomalies. Experiencers are often awakened by lights, a rushing sound, and activity in their bedrooms. At the onset of their experience they are not paralyzed, and often cry out, attempt to escape, or even throw objects at the intruders. Small entities, often with glistening eyes, move about their bedrooms.

The experiencer’s partners sometimes attempt to fight back, but is quickly immobilized and returned to his or her bed in what appears to be a deep sleep state. Soon a wave of paralysis overtakes the experiencer and they are whooshed from their homes to waiting craft where they are reportedly subjected to involuntary biological/social experiments. Some are returned to their beds, but others end up locked outside of their homes. Some awaken on their roofs, in their vehicles, or even in someone else’s home. Sometimes they find mud and vegetative matter in their beds. Others find they are no longer dressed in their own clothing, but in a stranger’s nightshirt. Sometimes experiencers find landing trace evidence on their property. Most academic psychologists ignore these unique characteristics associated with nocturnal bedroom ET Contact events. Instead they attempt to squeeze this group of experiencers into a sleep disturbance category.

Certainly sleep anomalies are intriguing as a probable explanation for those who exhibit the characteristics associated with hypnagogic and hypnopompic sleep states. However, research in this area is sparse and the neurological processes are not well understood.

Kathleen Marden is known around the world for her work as a UFO ET contact researcher, experiencer rights advocate, author and lecturer. She has 24 years experience in the field. For the past 3 years, she has served as MUFON’s Director of ET Contact Research. In 2012, The Mutual UFO Network named her “Ufologist of the Year.” She is also a member of the Foundation for Research of Extraterrestrial Encounter’s Advisory Board and a consultant to FREE’s Research Subcommittee.

She earned a B.A. degree in social work from the University of New Hampshire in 1971, and participated in graduate studies in education while working as a teacher and education services coordinator. She also has extensive training in hypnosis.

Her interest in UFOs dates back to September 20, 1961, when her aunt, Betty Hill phoned her nearby home to report that she and Barney had encountered a flying saucer in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. A primary witness to the evidence of the UFO encounter and the aftermath, Kathleen has intimate knowledge of the Hill’s biographical histories, personalities, and the previously unpublished historical files pertaining to their sensational story.

She is the author of three books, Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience, and Science was Wrong, with nuclear physicist/scientific ufologist Stanton T. Friedman, and The Alien Abduction Files, with Denise Stoner. Additionally, her essays appear in several books.

“In a 1988 scholarly paper, Martin Kottmeyer, a Midwestern farmer and vocal skeptic, who according to an online biographical profile ‘defies the idea that anyone should hold academic credentials in order to rationally tackle cultural mysteries...’ was wrong on every hypothesis...”